Walmart shoppers! Here’s the scoop on Tech and UGA fans!
Sometimes Tech folks feel overshadowed. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
In years past our annual look at Georgia fans vis-a-vis Georgia Tech has been offered in the spirit of good clean fun. This year, for the sake of novelty (and also because even I’ve wearied of Willie Martinez), the idea will be to help these two neighboring-but-different groups actually understand one another.
And then we’ll all join hands and raise our voices in a spirited rendition of “I’d Like To Teach the World to Sing” and toast one another with Coca-Cola products, and by the way: Did you know Georgia fans refer to Bobby Dodd Stadium as “The Joke By Coke”?
But enough! No more gags from me this year! Instead I offer the observations gained from dwelling among Tech and Georgia folks these past 27 years, eight months and 18 days.
• Tech fans care just as much about football as Georgia fans. This may come as a surprise to those Bulldogs backers who are forever mocking the attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium. (For the Jackets’ mammoth Thursday night clash against No. 10 Virginia Tech, attendance was announced at 50,140 in a facility that seats 55,000.) But counting heads isn’t necessarily a measure of passion.
Tech’s enrollment is roughly 20,000 — Georgia’s is 35,000, by the way — and a goodly percentage of those students will take their degrees and move elsewhere. (This isn’t to say that no Georgia grad ever moves out of state. Even Lewis Grizzard moved to Chicago for a few months.) But studies have shown that there are more Auburn grads living in metro Atlanta than Tech alums.
Numbers-wise, Georgia is always going to win. That doesn’t mean Tech folks don’t care. They do. Just ask any alum what he/she thinks of a Tech uniform that doesn’t feature the color gold. Or get one going on Bill Lewis’ 2 1/2-year reign of error.
• Just as Tech fans hate being hit over the head with attendance figures, Georgia fans hate hearing about Jan Kemp. When John Davis was a Tech lineman back in the ’80s, he told me this joke: “How do you get a degree from Georgia? Drive by campus and roll down the window.” And there was a time, let’s stipulate, when UGA wasn’t exactly a school of renown, and the Jan Kemp trial only underscored the notion.
But that was then, and under presidents Charles Knapp and Michael Adams the University of Georgia has become a place of pride and achievement. No, calculus isn’t a requirement for every UGA undergrad, but the academic missions of the schools are rather different. Georgia is a broad-based state university; Tech is, duh, a technical institute. Not everyone wants to be an engineer. Just because your diploma is from UGA doesn’t make you a comparative moron.
Not that Tech folks are eager to concede the point. On his Tuesday night radio show, Tech coach Paul Johnson took a call from someone who began barking. Said Johnson: “He just got off from Walmart.” (FYI, the CEO of Walmart is Tech grad Michael Duke.)
• When Tech fans speak of football tradition, they think first of Bobby Dodd. He was everything a Tech fan wanted in a coach. He was smart and his teams played precise football and he won a lot of games and he, not incidentally, beat Georgia eight times running. But that was in the ’50s, and those were different times: College football wasn’t yet a billion-dollar industry driven by TV and recruiting wasn’t a cutthroat nationwide competition.
Reasonable Tech fans — and Tech fans, by and large, tend to be reasonable — cannot envision their team ever again beating Georgia eight times in a row. (Since 1977, Tech has beaten Georgia eight times total.) In their heart of hearts, Tech fans would be satisfied with winning one of every three against their bitter rival. Not coincidentally, Johnson is 1-2 against Georgia.
• When Georgia fans speak of tradition, they think first of Herschel Walker. Yes, the Bulldogs were winning SEC and even national championships and turning out famous players (Sinkwich, Trippi, Tarkenton) long before landing the kid from Wrightsville on Easter 1980, but the Era of Herschel propelled Georgia from the ranks of perennial Southern power to something bigger. By every measure, those were the three greatest years in Bulldogs history.
That said, those three seasons skewed some Georgia fans’ view of their program. Two decades would pass before Georgia won another SEC title. Mark Richt has taken two conference titles and three division championships and his teams have finished in the top 10 five times, but Georgia hasn’t played for a national crown since 1982, and five different SEC schools have finished No. 1 over the past 13 years. UGA fans are still waiting their turn, same as they await the Next Herschel.
• Georgia is Tech’s biggest game of every year. Chan Gailey got fired not because he had losing seasons — he didn’t, not a one — but because he was 0-6 against the Bulldogs. And it’s undeniable that the words “To Hell with Georgia” are sung the loudest whenever “Ramblin’ Wreck” is played.
• Tech is Georgia’s biggest game only when Georgia fans are scared they might lose. This isn’t such a year. Georgia has won its division and is going to play LSU or Alabama for the SEC title next week. Georgia has, to borrow another Johnson line, bigger fish to fry. Which is the primary reason Georgia fans should be wary of Johnson and his team.
By Mark Bradley
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521 comments Add your comment
Kelly
November 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
Native: Or just drunk.
PerroGrande
November 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
GT’s way of placating angry Dawg fans Saturday: they will let all cars with UGA stickers park in handicapped spaces.
JOE B
November 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
Sorry Guys , Tech wins BIG 42-21
Seriously
November 23rd, 2011
4:01 pm
I know a tech grad with an engineering degree that proclaims himself a sandwich artist at Subway.
Native Atlantan Techie
November 23rd, 2011
4:01 pm
I tried looking at that comment from two perspectives, but remembered all the Tech failures I knew who headed over to Athens and suddenly their majestic intellects produced all A’s.
collegeballfan
November 23rd, 2011
4:04 pm
“The fans that bark the loudest will never set foot in a classroom outside of high school.”
This is my experience. The Georgia grads I know love to win but do not crow about it. The Georgia football team is not the most important thing in their life. Ragging the opposition fan is not the most important thing in their life. They have a degree from a top notch, up and coming university, and have a life beyond football. A life beyond the football game and beyond football recruiting.
The high school grads that are Georgia fans are just the opposite.
PerroGrande
November 23rd, 2011
4:04 pm
Georgia’s way of easing the loss Saturday: 10% discount at Walmart Saturday afternoon for all Tech fans. Just show your pocket protector, coke bottle glasses, and Rambling Wreck pennant to receive it.
61-39-5
November 23rd, 2011
4:07 pm
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for Joe B’s prediction of Trek blowing out UGA.
I needed that laugh today.
Enjoy your annual beating this weekend douchenozzles but, sincerely, good luck on getting your stadium finished soon.
PerroGrande
November 23rd, 2011
4:09 pm
NewFlash: Coach Paul Johnson leaves Walmart in Atlanta in haste, as the employees won’t stop barking at him.
Javarious C.
November 23rd, 2011
4:10 pm
Yeah.. those thugs at UGA.. has anybody seen Rueben Houston?.. I have some “friends” that need to talk to him about some gun charges..
Native Atlantan Techie
November 23rd, 2011
4:12 pm
douchenozzles
now that’s funny. original. nice wit.
Too funny from the fatman
November 23rd, 2011
4:13 pm
I’m a DAWG fan, but what the fat coach said was too funny….the guy did sound like a tard……
charles wike
November 23rd, 2011
4:16 pm
Mark, you’re probably too young to remember, but when GT was in the SEC, they not only played like an SEC team, but they filled the stadium with rabid fans every Saturday. When they became an independent, they couldn’t sell tickets. they then went into the ACC because The SEC wouldn’t let them back in. They made too many enemies when they wouldn’t play home and home with several SEC teams, like Auburn had to come to Atlanta every year. They joined the ACC and started playing like an ACC team. They have never recovered ticket wise.GT had less students in 1956, than now, but they sold every season ticket then.
Native Atlantan Techie
November 23rd, 2011
4:22 pm
To Charles Wike – lots of logic there, hopefully all these anonymous bloggers can understand it.
Tech also wasn’t competing with the MLB, NFL, and NBA in Atlanta back then for general fans of athletics who lived in Atlanta.
THEsidewalkfan
November 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
The Clean Old Fashioned Hate is alive and well.
PerroGrande
November 23rd, 2011
4:34 pm
Good one from the other blog: I heard Coach Johnson will call in sick for work on Saturday: it seems the Ogeltree’s grandmother is a greeter at Walmart.
Columbus
November 23rd, 2011
4:48 pm
Walmart sucks thanks to the Tech CEO.
Tech should beat UGA and they do and whoever says otherwise is an idiot. By the way, Tech was really good under Bobby Dodd hence his name on the stadium. Tech grads do not even know their history it seems. Tech recruits with the rest of the nation and gets good players too but recently they have not been able to hang with UGA on a consistent basis thanks to the arrival of Mark Richt. HE has cleaned house in recruiting in the state of GA but what hurts on top of that is that Tech is not usually the 2nd choice as other SEC and ACC schools have came in and took over their territory. So yes there is a talent difference and its Tech’s own fault. They used to be tougher to beat on a consistent basis when they had Bill Curry and Bobby Ross coaching. They play weak competition in the ACC and compete for a title but when it comes time to play in a big non-conference game, they have not played a tough enough schedule to be ready for it. Honestly, Tech is just going in the wrong direction in so many ways and the gap is getting wider and wider and wider between Tech and UGA…..which is Tech’s own fault.
Buckhead Bulldog
November 23rd, 2011
4:50 pm
Sic’ ‘em DOGS!
THWGT
Heath
November 23rd, 2011
4:51 pm
How does the old joke go?
If you see someone wearing a UGA hat, it’s because they bought it at a store because stores sell things people want to buy.
If you see someone wearing a GT hat it’s because they were unpopular in high school.
opportunity abounds
November 23rd, 2011
4:54 pm
Saw on another article that CMR spoke about the upcoming opportunities at tailback for future prospects, ostensibly directed toward this Marshall kid that is considering UGA. The report says that he apparently got the message, retweeting it. I wonder if Crowell got the message?
aNDY
November 23rd, 2011
5:02 pm
Yes Sir Mr. Bradley.
Mark Richt has not handled expectations well throughout his career at Georgia.
After a great game against Auburn, what happened against Kentucky?
If Georgia comes out that flat against Georgia Tech, it will be a blowout, Tech’s a top 25 team.
Georgia ALMOST lost to Tenn, Vandy, Kent, surely Tech will get the win.
Look for Georgia to be caught, LOOKIGN AHEAD.
UGA goes down.
GT THRU AND THRU
November 23rd, 2011
5:18 pm
If tech wins then the UGA fans will all say that they were overlooking tech anyways. I still dont like the jackets in this game. The dawgs are huge up front on the O line and i am afraid they will be able to move their offense with no problem against a much smaller tech Dline. I do think tech will run the ball better than most people think but it will not be enough to win. I hate to say it but UGA wins 34-17.
Cowboy
November 23rd, 2011
5:31 pm
Stinger,
You are a pathetic, simple minded tweeb (nerd). from the sewer systems of Atlanta. AKA (GT)
Georgia Tech will never be a top priority to UGA. You will always be the little brother to the Red & Black.
the sooner you get used to it the beeter off you will be.
P.S G E O R I G I A T E C H S U C K S
Cowboy
November 23rd, 2011
5:32 pm
Stinger,
As well as you
Who cares?
November 23rd, 2011
5:41 pm
And UGA fans are going to continue to “wait their turn” as long as Richt keeps hanging around. They better get used to it. No National Championship with Richt.
gtfanfrom1951
November 23rd, 2011
5:45 pm
The Seven Dwarfs were marching through the forest one day when they fell in a deep, dark ravine. Snow White, who was following along, peered over the edge of the steep chasm and called out to the fallen dwarfs. From the depths of the dark hole, a voice returned, “The Bulldogs are national championship contenders.”
Snow White thought to herself, “Thank God … at least Dopey’s survived!”
The Seven Dwarfs were marching through the forest one day when they fell in a deep, dark ravine. Snow White, who was following along, peered over the edge of the steep chasm and called out to the fallen dwarfs. From the depths of the dark hole, a voice returned, “The Bulldogs are national championship contenders.”
Snow White thought to herself, “Thank God … at least Dopey’s survived!”
The Seven Dwarfs were marching through the forest one day when they fell in a deep, dark ravine. Snow White, who was following along, peered over the edge of the steep chasm and called out to the fallen dwarfs. From the depths of the dark hole, a voice returned, “The Bulldogs are national championship contenders.”
Snow White thought to herself, “Thank God … at least Dopey’s survived!”
gtfanfrom1951
November 23rd, 2011
5:46 pm
UGA fan have to read it three times to get it!
IlliniDawg
November 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
Tech’s Johnson has pen!$ envy for UGA.
Face it. The guy is a total d*** – no double entendre intended.
[BTW: for those supposedly intellectually superior Techies who didn't have to take a foreign language, that is French for "conveying multiple meanings or messages"]
Suck it Tech Nerd!
Jay
November 23rd, 2011
5:55 pm
They better be scared. Look at the point spread. Would you ever say hey ga won the sec east, has 2 losses, 1 ooc to boise who’s top 10 and they are fav only by 5.5? In 2008 in athens I believe ga was a 15 point fav and they didn’t win the east that year and had 2 losses. I don’t get why more people can’t see what ga is. A decent football team that benefitted from not only avoiding the top 3 ranked teams BUT ALSO playing in a putrid sec east. The atlantic coastal IS better than the sec east this year. No doubt about it. That doesn’t mean tech will win but I have a good feeling they will because of that game next week. Playing number 1. TRAP. Playing in the sec champ. TRAP. Playing in a game with little meaning where the soph and juniors have won two in a row against them doesn’t provide much motivation. Beating lsu who will no doubt be a 2 td fav does. And talk about a season ending the way it started with a losing streak. Better hope you get a easy opponent in your bowl game. In other words, better not get Ok or Mich St.
45ACP
November 23rd, 2011
5:56 pm
The irony here is that CPJ looks and talks just like the stereotypical Dawg fan that Jacket fans have created.
Pierce Co Dawg
November 23rd, 2011
6:07 pm
Jackets fans are walmart greeters and a fan georgia refused. The DAWGS OWN TECH AND THE STATE OF GEORGIA. SPYRO YOU ARE A JOKE
rich
November 23rd, 2011
6:11 pm
What national championships did ugag win prior to Herschel’s arrival?
ugahedges SAYS WRECK TECH!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 23rd, 2011
6:18 pm
TO HELL WITH TECH!!!!!!!!!!! NO CLASS TECH GETS BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cdpridg
November 23rd, 2011
6:43 pm
Dawgs will be pushing bugs around the field and splattering insect gits all over the field come Sat…..sorry CPJ you are a loser just like your team and fanbase.
Dodger Dawg
November 23rd, 2011
6:59 pm
Sorry Mark, but it does not begin with Herschel..there’s Jake Scott, Charlie Trippi, Fran Tarkenton, and Frank Sinkwich. Not to mention the other greats that have played on the sacred turf called Sanford. the history begins way before Herschel and carries forward with many more that call UGA home
TampaGator
November 23rd, 2011
7:00 pm
What happens if this happens?
Tech beats Georgia and then Georgia beats LSU, Bama, or Arkansas in the SEC title game. Will that make Tech the SEC champs and the ACC the best conference in the land. Probably not going to happen…..but what if it does? The earth will probably swallow us all up in one big heap of “I told you so’s from ACC fans.”
And also….what happens to the BCS is that happens? All the heavens above will come crashing down on the NCAA and ESPN.
Dodger Dawg
November 23rd, 2011
7:01 pm
rich
November 23rd, 2011
6:11 pm
What national championships did ugag win prior to Herschel’s arrival?
—————————————————–
1927, 1942, 1946, and 1968
Sam
November 23rd, 2011
7:01 pm
Amazing video of a high school senior from Columbia TN who kicks the ball dead straight 75-80 yards in the air. He was successful on 54 of 54 attempts this season….100%. Now he needs a college team. Wants to go to GT.
Watch for yourself…it is unreal!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_JKwgwFY3g
TampaGator
November 23rd, 2011
7:02 pm
I think Georgia is simply too fast and strong on defense for Tech……Georgia wins 35-17 and the game is not even that close….but we will see.
TampaGator
November 23rd, 2011
7:03 pm
Where is Naganole……..????? Going to the Swamp Saturday night? How about those national champs from Tallahassee this year. Undefeated with all those big time recruits….too bad you had to play powerful Virginia this year….at home….what happend, Naganole???????
jay
November 23rd, 2011
7:07 pm
How ironic that a city of 6 million can’t fill a 55,000 seat stadium while a city of 50,000 can fill
a 92,000 seat stadium.
Walmart Uses Facebook to Divvy Up $1.5 Million in Holiday Grants
November 23rd, 2011
7:09 pm
[...] Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
TampaGator
November 23rd, 2011
7:16 pm
Jay…..
how far is that 50,000 city from that 6 mil city….where most of Georgia grads go to live and work…I would guess? And how far is CA, Ill, Mass., and NY from Atlanta….where probably most of the Tech grads go to live and work? And probably work on Saturdays as CEO and CFO’s of major corporations nationwide…..just saying.
JB_UGA
November 23rd, 2011
7:27 pm
THWGT!!!!!!!
JoeFan
November 23rd, 2011
7:32 pm
Wal-Mart proves the point: It’s true what the UGA grad says each morning to the GT grad when he gets to work: Morning Boss
Big Dawg
November 23rd, 2011
7:35 pm
rich, do some homework.
Jay,
are you serious? Thanks for the laugh, a$$ clown!
Heath
November 23rd, 2011
7:36 pm
TG, a business grad from UGA makes more than a business grad from Tech. Tech grads probably have to go around the world to find a job since everyone wants UGA grads first.
DILLIGAF
November 23rd, 2011
7:37 pm
Sam:
“Amazing video of a high school senior from Columbia TN”
Are you this kid’s agent or his father? You’ve been pimping his highlight video on these blogs for three days.
Big Dawg
November 23rd, 2011
7:39 pm
TampaGator,
“working on Saturdays as CEO and CFO’s of major corporations”? My god man, you are a complete idiot!! Your logic is as bad as your handle!!!
Big Dawg
November 23rd, 2011
7:43 pm
TampaGator and other Nerd fans…..you can’t have it both ways: You love to claim that most of the fans in Sanford stadium NEVER went to UGA yet they sell out EVERY game with over 92000. You love to say that Tech grads live out of town but can’t fill their puny 50000 seat stadium with non attending fans. Why is that?